


The Hunted

by ofhermindgames



Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Avengers - Freeform, Future AU, House of M - Freeform, How Did Percy Jackson Make It’s Way Into This?, Hurt Wanda Maximoff, Like really minor, Marvel - Freeform, Minor Clint Barton/Pietro Maximoff, Minor Pietro Maximoff/Wanda Maximoff, Multi, Pagan Wanda Maximoff, Pietro Maximoff Feels, Pietro Maximoff Lives, Wanda Maximoff Needs a Hug, Xmen, im sorry I tried not to but I love them too much, like you can probably just pretend it isn’t there, mcu - Freeform, scarletvision - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-15
Updated: 2020-02-18
Packaged: 2020-03-05 17:33:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18833431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ofhermindgames/pseuds/ofhermindgames
Summary: “I wasn’t always the one being hunted, I used to be the hunter. Every mutant used to be... when there were mutants.”“No More Mutants”





	1. Run Boy Run

     'I wasn't always the one being hunted, I used to be the hunter' Every mutant used to be... when there were mutants. The days where they ruled the world had come and passed too quickly. 'No more mutants' her own words used against her. She didn't mean for her words to effect her... The ones that survived the loss of their abilities had to hide. 

     People were known for wanting revenge, even on the innocent, the ones that had never hurt anyone. The people had always hated mutants, they feared them, they looked at them like monsters, but never had the power to stop them. Not until now. The world was in a frenzy. It was the holocaust all over again. It was illegal to carry the X-gene. Human rights didn't apply to them, they weren't human, they were thrown in camps, prisons, insane asylums, they could be hunted like animals, for sport, identified by a fingerprint scan that was required for everyone, to go anywhere, but more commonly by the code tattooed under their eyes. A place where it couldn't be hidden.

     The world had seen better days.

     Gunshot Gunshot Gunshot 'run, survive' was all Wanda could think. The pain coursing through her leg was numbed by the adrenaline, he brother pulling her along behind him. Leaves crushed under her bare feet, making their attempted escape much less quiet, made them easily trackable. 'Run, survive.' The voice rung clear in her mind. The image of bullets pricing the young girls skin was something she could never forget.

     Gunshot. Her heart seemed to echo in her ears. Her lungs burned. The bullet embedded in her leg seemed to only get more painful, more dizzy, nauseous... 'Wanda! Run, survive!' She promised she would, she had to make good on that promise.

     Wanda kept running, her brother still ahead of her, pulling her with him. He would be faster without her, but getting him to leave her behind to get captured would be an act of god, and even then, he'd tell god to fuck off.

Wanda took a sharp breath, the bullet seemed to be burying itself deeper into her leg, scraping against the bone. She couldn't hold back the cry that came from her lips as she fell to the ground.

     They seemed to put a good distance between them and those who hunted them. Pietro kneeled next to her, pulling her to a standing position, pushing her against a large tree. "I have an idea." He hurriedly told her, "climb the tree. I need to give them a trail to follow, then I'll be right back."

     "We're not separating." Wanda shook her head, fear was the only thing present in her voice, everything leading up to that point had her terrified, "we stay together. Like always."

     "We don't have time to argue about this! You're shot, you can barley even stand!" Pietro looked around, his thoughts racing a mile a minute. Gunshot Gunshot, "they're getting closer Wanda! 5 minutes. Give me 5 minutes and I'll be back for you."

     Tears streamed down her cheeks despite the now cold expression on her face, "you have 5 minutes Pietro, if you're not back by then I'm coming to find you."

     Pietro kisses her cheek, squeezing her hand. "Get as high up as you can, and stay there. 5 minutes." With one last kiss we ran, Wanda half expected a blue blur to be left behind, but of course that didn't happen.

     She turned and started climbing, watching from the high branches as her brother disappear into the woods. She climbed to the highest branch that she dared, settling on it. As her racing heart started to calm, the pain grew, blood stained the branch where she sat. 30 seconds.

     She ripped off a part of her shirt to wrap it around the wound. Biting her tongue to stop from crying out. 50 seconds. 

     Her brother had said 5 minutes, but she couldn't help but grow worried and impatient after only the first minute. 

Gunshot. Wanda clapped her hand over her mouth to stop the scream that almost managed to escape her lips. They were too close. What sounded like a stampede of people grew closer. Run, survive! Like a warning now. Her voice seemed to grow more intense in Wanda's head. 2 minutes. Wanda squeezed her eyes shut, holding her hand tightly over her mouth. Then she heard dogs. Shit...

     Wanda's other hand pressed over the bleeding wound on her leg, the dogs would smell it... shit. 2 minutes 40 seconds. Where was he? They'd find her, and they'd find him and they'd be killed, or worse, be back where they started.

     Wanda slowly opened her eyes to see the group of people passing by. Dogs in front, lunging in the direction her brother had gone. They all had guns, hunting riffles, some had pistols. The group ran in the direction the dogs led them, shooting anything that moved. 4 minutes.

     'Pietro where are you?' She thought to herself. How did he expect to get back to her? They had dogs. They'd be able to track him no matter where he went.

     The hunters passed, the gunshots and barking grew quieter, until everything was silent. 5 minutes turned into 10. 10 turned into 30. 30 minutes turned into 5 hours.

     He said 5 minutes. It had been 5 hours. She couldn't assume the worst. He was coming back for her. They were going to find a place to hide and live away from people. They were going to be happy. He was coming back.

     Wanda's hand had dropped from her leg, blood dripping off her fingertips, to the ground below. She could barely keep her eyes open. She had lost to much blood and the cold night was quickly approaching. After all they had been through, was this really how she was going to die? No... 'Run, survive' She has to do what she had promised.

     As the sun started to set over the horizon, Wanda slowly descended from the tree, her hands shaking, barely able to find grip.

     She winced as her bare feet touched the cold ground, pain shooting through her leg as she put weight on it. Everything was spinning, her body ached from the last day of running and fighting. But the need to find Pietro drove her. She ignored the pain, the dizziness, the nausea, everything, and she started walking again.  

     5 hours and 20 minutes.

     5 hours and 50 minutes

     6 hours and 45 minutes

     He was late. Pietro didn't like being late. What if he had gone back for her and she wasn't there? They'd be searching for each other forever.

     Leaves crunched underfoot behind her, she quickly turned to throw a punch at whoever decided to sneak up on her. Her hand greeted nothing but air as the person stepped aside, grabbing her wrist.

     She punched and kicked with all she had, desperate to get away from whoever had her. But to the other person, her attacks felt like nothing more than a nudge.

     "Wanda. Wanda it's okay. I'm not here to hurt you." Said the familiar voice. Familiar, but different than how she remembered. His words, his voice, managed to calm her, but he still held her wrists tightly in his hands, against his chest. "It's me. It's Peter. Peter Parker. Remember?"

     "Peter-" Wanda repeated, swaying slightly, Peter helping her sit. Everything was foggy... "Heyyyyy... Pete..."

     "Hey Bambii." She hadn't heard that nickname in so long... only Peter called her that. It was so long ago... years ago. He was so much older. "Let's get you to the safe house. You're bleeding a lot-"

     "N- no no no... Pietro- He ran to lead them away- I need to find him... I have to look..." Wanda replied frantically, trying to pull her hands away from him.

     "You're no help to him dead Wanda. We have a search party looking for the both of you... Which reminds me." Peter pulled a radio from his pocket, speaking into it, "417, over."

     "629, go." A voice spoke back.

     "I got Wanda. She's hurt but she's alive. I'm taking her back to the safe house. Over." Peter didn't wait for the reply before putting the radio back in his pocket, but Wanda still heard

     "We think we got a trail on the quick little bastard. Careful out there, it's getting dark the hunters are out. Over." It was Clint...

     "Let's get you somewhere safe Bambii." Peter said, lifting her into his arms with ease.

     "Pietro said 5 minutes... 6 hours and 55 minutes..." she whispered, finding the strength talk was difficult. "He said 5 minutes and he'd be back... he's late..."

     Peter sighed softly as he walked, "he's out there somewhere. We'll find him."

     Wanda's head slumped back, her eyes rolling back in her head. But she was breathing. Peter listened closely to her weak heartbeat, and watched her chest rise and fall.

     The sky soon turned completely black, the stars covered the night sky, like fireflies, it was almost peaceful if it wasn't so creepy. The wind whistled through the trees, more leaves falling to the ground. The cold air and falling leaves told them winter was definitely on its way.

"This is 437. We have a man down. We're heading in. Over"

"3000, Roger that. Medical is on standby. Over."

"963 we need backup in the southern woods, I repeat we need backup. Any available agents. We need backup."

Peter listened to the constant talk over the radio. There was a small ambush, but only Kate was injured. Laura has stumbled across a hunter trap, but only got a small scratch. Hope had run into a hunter, but the fight was quick and she was unharmed. But no word on Wanda's brother, other than the trail went cold. It was getting too dark for it to be safe for anyone out there. They all were heading back to the safe house.

Peter heard a distant whistle behind him, he had heard it so often he didn't even flinch. Lucky, the one eyed lab mix that Clint had rescued, barked as he ran to Peter.

"Hey buddy." Peter smiles at the old dog, the fur on his face had turned completely white in the last year, and after stepping in a hunter trap he had a pretty bad limp. But everyone loved him.

"How is she?" Clint asked as he walked beside peter, reaching down to pet his dog.

"Not great. Her pulse is weak, but the bleeding stopped." Peter answered, looking down at the pale girl, the girl he used to always consider his big sister. Aside from how much skinnier she had gotten and her blood drained face, she had barely changed. "Still no sign of Pietro?"

"The trail went about a mile out of the east woods. No body, no blood, no stray bullets, so that's a good sign. He probably circled back, leading anyone trying to track him on a dead end. He's smart. We'll continue the search in the morning." Clint answered, trying to hold out hope that they'd find Pietro.

"And Lorna?" Peter asked softly

"No word. We'll have to ask Wanda when she wakes up." Clint sighed, as the approached a metal door, the entrance to the bunker/safe house. "I'd hate to be the one who sent Lorna on that mission... her father can be- intimidating to say the least."

"Yeah. Tell me about it." Peter said, shaking his head. He had to deal with Lornas father on the daily. He was the leader of the resistance, and didn't like peter very much.

Clint quickly typed something into the keypad next to the door, and soon after it opened to reveal an elevator. They stepped in, Lucky trotted in and sat beside Clint.

The elevator soon reached the medical floor, Peter stepped off, and Wanda was almost immediately taken away on a bed. Peter left to stare at the hallway they disappeared down.

"She be alright kid." Clint reassured him, placing his hand on the kids shoulder.

"I'm 27. Hardly a kid." Peter told him. "You're just old."

"Well you didn't age those 5 years you were dust. So technically you're 22." Clint corrected and he and peter stepped back onto the elevator.

"Yeah, Yeah. Whatever you say. Old man."

***

The dreaded time finally had come to pass, the search parties had returned, and it was time to talk to Erik. No one wanted to give the news that his daughter didn't come back with the twins. So that job became Peters.

"Where is she?" Peter visibly flinched the second he stepped into the command room. Eriks voice echoing through the large room. Everyone froze, looking up from their work stations to see the commotion.

"She missed her last two check ins, and the search party found no sign of her." Peter answered, keeping his head held high.

"Who sent her on that mission in the first place? Getting the Maximoff's was a suicide mission! I gave a direct order! The Maximoff's were not to be rescued!" 

"She asked to go. She wanted too. She went against your orders to get the twins, very few people even knew she planned on going." Peter explained, "I only found out this morning when she left."

"Why didn't you tell me!" Erik questioned.

"Wanda and Pietro are important to her, and with all due respect, Sir, where were you all this afternoon? While we," Peter motioned to himself and Clint, "Organized a search party, and spent the last 7 hours searching for her?"

Everyone was silent, quiet enough to hear a pen drop.

"You think your so special don't you? Because you still have your powers after Wanda Maximoff obliterated our kind!" Erik stepped forward, he stood at least a half foot above Peter. Although everyone knew Peter could take him out without breaking a sweat. "You're just some kid from Queens who was lucky enough to get bit. You're not a mutant, you're not one of us."

"Yet I'm the best chance of getting her back, because I was a lucky kid who got bit. Without my abilities, we would never have found Wanda alive. She being the best chance to bring everyone's powers back. Not to mention once we get a location on Lorna, I'll be able to save her."

"Always the knight in shining armor. Always have to save the day." Erik glared down at Peter, his arms crossed "She doesn't come back and thats on you."

"Understood. Sir." Peter couldn't help but smirk softly, the power trip not having any effect on him. Erik dismissed him with a simple wave of his hand. Peter turned his back to Erik walking back towards the elevator.

"Well that was...  interesting." A female voice came from behind him. Peter glanced over his shoulder to see his 'sister'

"Hey Morgan." He smiled, putting his arm around her as they walked,

"Mr. Lehnsherr isn't too happy..." she commented.

"Well when I save his daughter, I'm sure he'll forgive me." Peter chuckled, pressing the elevator button, waiting for the door to open. "I just hope she's alright..."

"Lornas a badass bitch, even without her powers. I'm sure she's okay."

Peter couldn't help but laugh, "Mr. Rogers wouldn't like that kind of talk."

"I'm not even sure if he could hear that kind of talk. Pretty sure his hearings starting to go." Morgan laughed trying to make light of the situation, momentarily distracted her brother from everything that was going on, "so where are we headed?"

Peter stepped onto the elevator with her, pressing two different buttons, "you're going up to your room, and getting some rest. You worked hard today and you need a break. I am going to talk with someone..."

"Cryptic. Sounds fun. I'll join you." She smiled, damn she was as stubborn as her father was.

Peter shook his head, no way he could let her join him. "No. You won't. You get to go to bed. Don't you have school tomorrow or somethin'?"

"Pete- we're fugitives, we don't have school." Morgan laughed, Peter gave her a strange look,

"Alright, Whatever, you're 13, you need sleep." Peter told her, the elevator stopping at the sleeping quarters. 

Morgan rolled her eyes, stepping off the elevator. "Fine, just be careful with whatever you're going to do."

"Always am. Love you 3000." Peter said as the doors closed. He looked down and sighed, his mind going back to Lorna, and Wanda, and Pietro. The three siblings. He had only recently found out that the twins were also Eriks children, Lorna being their half sister. Only him and Lorna knew, which is why she went to find them, and Erik would never understand that. Lorna made him promise to let her tell him, so until then he had to keep it a secret, even from Wanda...

The doors opened again, all the labs were on this level, just below the command area where Erik had given his lecture.

Peter walked through the halls until he arrived at his own lab, "alright. Look alive."

"You sound like me kid. That's not a good thing Pete." Tonys voice. Of course it wasn't really him, but an AI tony had made for him before- well, before everything... it was a blessing and a curse to him, the AI has all of Tony's memories, and personality, but it was just the voice, and it wasn't him. Peter couldn't hug him, he didn't have him back... not really.

"Yeah yeah. Where are we on the serum Mr. Stark?" Peter asked, he took a seat as a hologram appeared in front of him.

"We're still where we left off. But you were making traction the last time you worked." Tony answered, "might I suggest asking for some help? You've been working on this for 532 days... I'm sure Shuri or Morgan wouldn't mind. You don't have to tell them what we're making here."

"They're smart. They'd figure it out. Even if this is to help everyone... they'd never understand." Peter sighed as he started working. Moving the different chemicals in the hologram around.

After hours, and more coffee than any normal person should be able to consume, Peter picked up a small blood vile, "We need another blood sample..."

"You need rest Peter. Laura is asleep, you won't be able to get the blood until the morning. And how do you expect to explain taking more blood from the poor girl?" Tony questioned, being the voice of reason for Peter in this moment.

"She was hurt today. I'll say that I need to make sure nothing on that trap that entered her blood stream, that could hurt her." Peter answered, taking the test serum that sat in the syringe. He mixed it with the blood, swirling the two together, "run the test Mr. Stark."

It was silent for the next few minutes, "simulation successfully." Tony finally spoke, Peter almost falling from his chair.

"Well shit." He laughed, he hadn't expected it to work.

"The X-gene seems to be completely eliminated from Laura's blood sample. No trace of it." Tonys voice was soft, he sounded proud, "good job kid. You did it."


	2. It’s been a long, long time

Pietro head felt like it was splitting in half. Every slight move he made the pain got worse. He didn't know where he was, or how long he had been there, he just remembered running. And Wanda. His Wanda. He needed to get the hunters away from her. Where was she? Was she okay? Did they get her too? A million questions raced through his head as he quickly sat up and opened his eyes, ignoring the pain, and the blood that he felt coming from his head.

Pietro groaned as he registered his surroundings. Solitary confinement.

"Are you alright kid?" A smooth voice came from what seemed like nowhere. Until Pietro noticed the small vent.

"Peachy." Pietro answered, holding his hand to the back of his head, blood soaking his palm. "Where are we? In prison in know that, but where?"

"Relocation centre in Long Island." He answered, "you have been out for three days."

"Was anyone else brought in around the same time?" Pietro frantically questioned.

The man let out a low chuckle, "If you're wondering about your sister. She wasn't brought in. As far as I know, no one has been brought in for days before you."

"Thank God..." Pietro sighed in relief, sitting against the wall next to the vent,

"You're sister will be alright Maximoff." The man said, "from what I've heard, she's strong. She'll be just fine."

Pietro just sighed, wanting to change the subject, "So how'd a nice guy like you end up in a place like this?"

"The raid of new Asgard. Only a few managed to escape." He answered, Pietro could hear the change in his voice, becoming more somber

"You're Asgardian?" Pietro questioned, raising an eyebrow. Not thinking that the other man couldn't see him.

"I am. Most of Asgard was know to be Mutant sympathisers. They couldn't take the risk that we would help your kind."

"I'm not actually a mutant... my powers came from the mind stone, I wasn't born with them." Pietro corrected, "but, yeah I get it."

"If you are not a mutant, why have they put you in here? Yes you and your sister escaped, but why did you need to escape in the first place."

Pietro sighed, looking down at the concrete floor, trying to imagine where his sister was now, "I've been asking the same question for years..."

***

The last three search parties had returned with no news. No sign of Pietro or Lorna. They were starting to assume the worst, that they were captured, or killed.

No one wanted to believe that, but these days, hope was rare. With food running low, and hunters getting closer and closer to their location, they knew they'd have to move soon. Where? They didn't know. They had nowhere else to go...

Without their powers, the danger of the humans became the only thing people thought of, the atmosphere of the underground was somber. People were prepared for the end. The day was coming when they would have to run, run to a place that didn't exist. A safe place on Earth didn't exist after this safe house, from the looks of it, they had 3 weeks.

"Wanda... you gotta wake up... you gotta fix this kiddo..." Clint whispered, holding her hand, looking over her pale, thin figure. The bullet had been removed, she was given blood, and was on the road to recovery. No one knew how long that would take.

"We can't find your brother. We lost the trail Wands, I'm sorry... we can't find him." Clint couldn't help the tears running down his cheeks, "Pietro needs your help Wanda, hundreds of people and mutants need your help. You gotta wake up. We can get your powers back, somehow, and you can save everyone. We need you."

He watched her chest rise and fall steadily, she seemed so peaceful. She seemed to lose a few years when she slept, she looked like the kid he met in sokovia again. Just a scared 16 year old, who could barely fight off a few robots, now the reason for the loss of every mutants powers. (Everyone but Laura. She was a special case.)

Wanda had rewritten reality to fit her own needs and wants. Pietro had convinced her to give everyone the life they wanted, so they might finally leave the two alone. And for a time, that worked. Everyone was happy, the twins disappeared into the world, no one knew where. Until years of living in that false reality, when they found her and Pietro in a small cabin in the highlands of Scotland, Wanda raising her twins, Pietro watching over all of them.

The fight was intense. Wanda's powers prevented anyone from touching her or anyone she cared about. And then she uttered the cursed words 'no more mutants'

After that, everything went to hell... everyone blamed Wanda, they were right to, it was her fault, but she was also the best chance any of them had. Restoring her powers would be a key to restoring everyone's. Without any of the 6 infinity stones, no one knew how they were going to do that, but they had to try.

"Wanda... you put us here. This is your mess, you have to fix this." His voice was almost angry. He had every right to be. He may not be a mutant, but he lost so much after the mutants lost their powers.

The family he had worked so hard to save after Thanos, was gone again. He held his wife in his arms as she slowly bled out due to a hunters bullet, she was trying to protect Cooper, and Lila... he didn't know where they were now, and Nate only 7 year old at the time, was arrested for helping a young mutant girl escape during a raid at his school.

Clint knew that he couldn't bring Laura back, but he knew that his children still had a chance, if only Wanda could fix this.

She laid there so peaceful, seemingly unaffected by the chaos she created around her.

And Wanda felt safe. She didn't know where she was, but she knew somehow, she was safe. The sound of the ocean, and soft music filled her ears, 'it's been a long, long time', strong arms held her in a warm embrace as they swayed slowly to the music. She felt sand under her bare feet, her head rested against his chest, her eyes stayed closed. Wanda couldn't remember the last time she felt like this, at peace, and loved. Soft lips gently pressed to the top of her head, his fingers gently caressed her cheek, such a small movement that was such a comfort to her. Wanda didn't want to open her eyes, she wanted the peaceful feeling to last forever.

His fingers traced her jaw, until they reached under her chin, guiding her to look up at him. At first she resisted, burying her face into his chest, she just wanted to feel him close again, it had been so long.

"Wanda..." his voice was just how she remembered, so quiet, so loving, she missed him so much.

Slowly she looked up to meet his eyes. "Vision..." she smiled, her eyes filled with tears. The years without him had been long, and lonely. Five years without him, they all seemed to fade so quickly, now she was here with him, those years no longer mattered.

"My love." Vision places a loving kiss on her forehead, then her lips. It was so gentle, but filled with so much love, making up for the years apart. "I've missed you."

"I'm so sorry." Wanda told him, it's all she felt right saying, a tear sliding down her cheek.

"You don't need to apologise my love. I do not blame you for what happened." Vision smiled softly, his hand resting on her cheek. Wanda leaned into his light touch, letting the tears fall down her face.

"But I-" Wanda couldn't finish that sentence, she only wished she could forget what she had done.

Vision hushed her, gently caressing her cheek once more, "I am aware what you did to me. But I will never be upset. We lost so much that day. But the children forgive you."

"The-" Wanda's voice got caught in her throat, she could barely breathe.

"Mama!" She heard a small voice call out to her, Wanda turned to see two small figures running from the ocean where they looked to be playing earlier.

Wanda fell to her knees in the sand, she reached for her boys, her twins, her children that she had lost so many years ago. Their small arms wrapped around her, as she held them close, never wanting to let go in fear of losing them again.

"My babies... I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I couldn't save you" Wanda whispered

"Save us from what mama?" Thomas asked.

"Are we in danger?" William questioned, holding his mother tighter.

"No, no... not any more." Wanda promised them. "You never will be now."

"Then you did save us." William said happily.

Vision knelt next to his love and his children, pulling all three into his arms. "You're here early my darling. It's not your time..."

"What do you mean?" Wanda asked him, almost oblivious to everything that had happened.

"You must go. There are people that need you now. Your brother needs your help." Vision answered, running his fingers through her hair.

Wanda slowly shook her head, "I want to stay here. With you."

"I don't think you have a choice. It's not your time my love. Not yet."

"No. No I can't leave you, I can't lose you all again..." Wanda whispered, as tears of joy were replaced by ones of sadness.

"You'll return one day. And we'll be here waiting. But for now. Your brother, and all other mutants need you." Vision told her, gently kissing her forehead. "Boys. Say goodbye to your mother. She needs to go home now."

"Come back soon Mama." Thomas told her, pulling away from his mother, William following his lead.

"No. No I'm not going back Vision. I can't. I can't go back now." Wanda said, almost frantically, grasping for her children, but they were just out of reach. Everything was starting to fade, becoming distant. "Vision please."

"We'll be together again some day, I promise you." Vision whispered, "I love you."

Those words seemed to echo as he faded away, as everything started to fade away. Her vision only filled by a bright white light.


	3. Two Mutants Take the Most Awkward Elevator Ride in History

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh wow it’s been a while. I rewrote this chapter so many times because I was never (and am still not) completely happy with it. But the WandaVision trailer certainly helped a bit with the writers block. If anyone has stuck around waiting for this update- THANK YOU <3  
> Anyways, hope you enjoy.

Wanda slowly opened her eyes, allowing the white light to fade. Vision was gone. Tommy and Billy were gone. Everything she had previously been surrounded by was gone, replaced by medical equipment, the steady beeping of a heart monitor to her left. To her right, she saw a man, her hand clutched in his. She wanted to go back. Why did he say she had to leave?

Wanda pulled her hand away, quickly sitting up. She had to go back.

“Wanda.” It was Clint. He stood, trying to calm her. “Wanda its okay you’re safe.”

“Vision- my children- i need to go back.” Wanda frantically tried to explain, looking for a way to go back to that world. Was that the afterlife? She pulled at the iv in her arm, harshly yanking it from under skin.

“Wanda. Wanda! Calm down! Look at me!” Clint grabbed her wrists, holding her in place. “Look at me... Wanda... they’re gone. They’re not coming back...”

“He said- Vizh... I need to go to him... ” Clint’s heart broke at the look in her eyes, she was so desperate, and frantic, and broken... The universe had never been kind to her, she always hid it well, she always kept her head high and kept moving, but everyone, even the most powerful avenger had their breaking point.

Wandas breaking point was the death of her children, she lost all sanity after that. She killed her husband, she killed Scott Lang, she tried to kill Clint, she hurt more people than anyone could count. After losing so much, she finally looked broken, she couldn’t hold her head high and hide how she felt, it was so visible now.

“I need you to breathe. Just take a deep breath, calm down... Vision is gone. The only way for you to go to him is if you die, and I’m not going to let that happen, we need you.” Clint told her, slowly losing his grip on her wrists as she started to calm.

This girl was like his daughter, even if she was the reason for so much loss, he would always be there for her. He pulled her into a gentle hug, running his fingers through her hair. “Your brother needs your help.” He whispered

“Pietro... where is he?” Wanda questioned as she pulled away from his embrace, “he said he would be back... 5 minutes-“

“The trail went cold, we’re still looking, but the more we do the more we risk revealing our location to the hunters.” Clint frowned, sitting back in is chair. “I need to asked you a few questions Wanda. I know you’re still recovering but it’s important.”

Wanda just slowly nodded.

“Can you tell me about the place you were locked up?”

Wanda shook her head, she didn’t want to go back to that place, she didn’t want to think about it. “They thought i was insane...”

“You’ve come a long way in 5 years Wanda. We used to be unable to even have a conversation with you.” Clint told her. He seemed to understand what she meant. No one really knew much about where they were, but he gathered that it was a mental hospital.

“I wiped out every mutants powers on the planet...” Wanda reminded him.

“Not every mutant.” Clint said, “There are some that still have their powers, and there’s people like Peter who got their powers from something other than the x-gene.”

Wanda tilted her head, giving him a questioning look. That didn’t add up- she didn’t have her powers...

“You have the x-gene.” Clint said, seeing her confusion, “We made sure to test you for it the second you got in here.”

“How?”

Clint shook his head and shrugged, “I dont think thats the important question right now. There was a girl, her name is Lorna Dane, she came to rescue you... Green hair, strange fashion choices...”

Run, survive!

Clint continued, “We cant find a trail that might be her, we were hoping you might have an idea where she went.”

“There’s no trail... she didn’t go anywhere.She- she was shot... trying to get us out of there...” Wanda whispered, looking down at her hands. “I didn’t even know her and i cant help but feel like I lost someone important.”

“She’s dead?” Peters voice came from behind Clint. Wanda flinched and turned her head to see him. His eyes were filled with tears.

“Kid...” Clint stood, facing peter.

“I’m sorry... i tried to save her. I did.”

“It’s not your fault wanda.” Clint whispered.

Peter had always been an open book for Wanda, he was still that kid she had first met all those years ago. Innocent, and kind, and unable to lie to save his life. He could try his hardest to hide his true feelings from her, but she saw right through that. He blamed her. Wanda couldn’t be mad at him for that. She blamed herself. She didn’t even know Lorna Dane, she had no idea who she was or why she sacrificed her life to save Wanda and Pietro from that hellhole, but Wanda could tell how important she had been to Peter.

“S-she new the risks... she still went.” Peter spoke but just barely. That was all he said before he left and if she could, wanda would’ve followed him, but she wasn’t positive she could walk. So she stayed where she was, waiting for Clint to speak again.

“Lorna Dane is Erik Lehnsherrs daughter. He’s the one that runs all of this. After Charles Xavier’s death, he was the best person for the job. He may have questionable values but he will protect mutants at all costs... his daughter even more so” Clint sat back where he had been as he spoke, “if he find out that Lorna is dead... you will be too. Or as good as. He will throw you out of here, he will stop the search parties for your brother...”

“So you want me to lie?” Wanda asked, although she knew that was exactly what he meant, and he confirmed that with a nod. “Lucky for you I’ve become exceptionally good at that these last few years.”

“Natasha taught you well” Clint gave her a small smile, taking her hand in his. He had not spoke of Natasha in a long time, but he still thought of her often. She hadn’t been one of the people that Wanda brought back in her little perfect world she had created for everyone, the reason for that being that was not what anyone wanted, Natasha most of all. She had given her life to save countless lives including Clint’s. The red in her ledger was gone, and she could finally be at peace. Wanda knew not to mess with that. “You should get some more rest. You’re still healing.”

Wanda sighed, “I dont feel like resting. Pietro is still missing...”

“We are doing everything we can to find him.” Clint reassured her. That much she knew, but it did nothing to help. He was still in danger, she couldn’t even think about sleep knowing that.

“Can we maybe walk around...? Just for a bit, I really wont be able to sleep.”

“I would say yes if you hadn’t been shot in the leg.” Clint stood again, walking over to the IV that Wanda had ripped from her arm. He grabbed a clean needle sitting on the edge of her bed. “If you wont rest, you at least need fluids.”

Wanda offered him her hand, the two sat in silence as he cleaned the area, and gently pressed the clean needle into the vein. He unclamped the line letting whatever fluids they had been giving her back into her system. Wandas movements quickly started to lag, she leaned back in bed and yawned.

“Thats a sedative isnt it?” Wanda whispered, her eyelids started to feel heavy as she was pulled back into her sleep.

“Get some rest kid.” Clint said, pulling the blanket over her shoulders. She fell into what he hoped would be a peaceful sleep. Everything had gone to shit, and without Lorna, Erik would be even more of a pain in their asses. It wasn’t just that either, Lorna had been part of a mutant resistance for years before all hell broke loose. She was a natural born leader, she held them all together, she gave them hope. Without her, they needed someone to pick up that mantle. Clint had no idea who that would be.

And in that moment the saving grace walked through the door. Ha! What a joke. A saving grace in times like this. Maybe if the avengers still existed, but Tony and Natasha were gone, Cap was no help to anyone. Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson hadn’t been heard from since Zemos return. And the hulk? Who knows. Last they knew he was in new Asgard, and now no one was in new Asgard. That made Clint Barton the last, he wasn’t Hawkeye anymore, he was just the very human, flawed, deaf avenger that somehow managed to survive. Well he was a Barton, guess that name made him much more susceptible to injury, but nearly impossible to kill.

Well what about the inhumans you ask? “This isn’t our war” Cowards, thats what Clint thought. They went to fix their home on the moon and where never seen again. So that left them completely alone, and completely human.

A hand on his shoulder got his attention, Clint looked up at the raven haired girl. ‘Are you going to sit here forever?’ Kate signed. She was one of the few people that still signed to him or even knew asl. Yes Clint has hearing aids, and could understand most conversations, it was still much easier to sign... and for some reason, comforting.

Clint chuckled and shrugged ‘until Wanda is back to 100%’ he paused for a moment and tried to change the subject ‘have you spoken with Barney?’

‘Unfortunately. He is being as insufferable as usual.’ Kate answered, pulling up a chair next to Wanda’s bed. ‘He’s never been very good with staying in one place.’

‘We don’t have much of a choice, but Wanda will fix this.’

‘How? She’s as powerless as you and me. Even at her full strength, there’s nothing she can do.’

‘We’ll figure something out. We always do.’

‘Did.’ Kate corrected ‘Clint, we lost. We are loosing. I hate to be the person that has to say this, but we need to prepare ourselves. We have 3 weeks, a month if we’re lucky-‘

‘I know Kate!’

Kate nodded, waiting for a moment before she replied ‘we shouldn’t be fighting amongst ourselves.’

‘I know’

———

So now what? What happens after that? Well the days passed quickly. Their numbers became less and less as people began to flee. And no one was sure what to think about that. At the very least it left more supplies for the rest of them, but it also meant less people to help in the resistance. People wanted out, and no one could blame the ones that left, their leader was gone. Well- Erik was still their but the one everyone looked up to for support in times like these was missing. Dead. But no one knew that. No one other than Clint, Peter and Wanda.

The searches for Pietro were stopped, the risk was too great and they needed more people to help get others across the border into Canada.

And that’s how it went. For nearly two weeks.

Wanda was healing quickly, but for now she was only allowed to get out of bed to go to the bathroom, at least until she back to full strength. Not many people came to visit, but Clint tried to stay with her as much as he could.

And then the last person she expected to see showed up at her bedside.

“Wanda Maximoff.” Erik Lehnsherr said. There was no need for him to introduce himself. He was one of the most well know and disliked mutants the world knew. Everyone knew him. “Come. Walk with me.”

Without another word he turned and started for the elevator. Wanda didn’t protest. She had been dying to get out of that bed for days. So she slowly stood, trying to gain her balance before she followed Erik. The witch was grateful that she had been allowed to change out of the horrible hospital gown into some sweats and a oversized T-shirt. Walking around with Erik Lehnsherr in a hospital gown would have been the most awkward and embarrassing thing to happen to her.

Staggering and limping, Wanda managed to catch up to Erik, just as the elevator doors opened. Without a word the two mutants took the most awkward elevator ride in history. Well at least for Wanda it was awkward. Erik seemed perfectly comfortable in the tense silence.

The elevator slowly went up. Really really slowly- we’ll it was a maintenance elevator so it was huge, and slow. But it felt like it was taking much longer than it should have.

“Relax Ms. Maximoff. You’re starting to make me anxious.” Erik said. He was acting so... well- gentle, kind, it was weird. Wanda wasn’t sure what to think of it. “You are not a prisoner here Wanda. You may speak if you’d like. I’m sure you have questions.”

“The past few days I’ve kinda felt like a prisoner...” Wanda said, her words coming out much quieter than she had planned. “I could understand your reasons if I was.”

“Yes... you have harmed countless mutants, and humans.” Well, Erik didn’t sugarcoat anything...

Wanda nodded. “So where exactly are we?”

“I’m surprised you haven’t recognised this place.” Erik said. The elevator finally stopped and the doors opened. Yeah- she did recognise it.

“The avengers-“ Wanda started. The underground levels of the old avengers facility. The place had been destroyed by Thanos years ago, and although the lower levels had been almost completely rebuilt, everything on the surface was gone, there was never time to rebuild it. It made sense to Wanda, it was a perfect place to hide. Right under everyone’s noses... literally.

The two mutants stepped out of the elevator into what looked to be a makeshift dinning hall. It was huge... Wanda could remember being in that hanger. It was nearly the size of a football stadium. She remembered it was where Tony used to store projects that didn’t go as planned, but the parts could have been useful someday... Old quinjets, different suit designs and prototypes. Really anything you can think up, Tony tried it.

People sat either at foldable tables or on the floor on blankets. Kids ran around laughing, playing... Wandas heart ached. They were all here because of her. And now she could do nothing to help them.

“We all do what we can. We share, we take care of each other.” Erik said, bringing Wanda out of her thoughts. He started towards the other end of the room where lunch was being served. “Every few days raiding parties go out to get food. We used to have our human allies buy food to bring back, but the more people took shelter here... the more food they had to bring... it got too risky. Now they go in the night, and we take what we need.”

Wanda wasn’t sure why he was telling her all this... maybe to make her see the true damage she did. Or maybe- if she was lucky... he was trying to let her be a part of the resistance. But when was she ever lucky?

Erik continued, “Mr. Parker tends to lead the raids, along with my daughter, Lorna...”

There it was.

Wanda stayed silent.

“You must have seen her.” Erik said. Stopping at the end of the line for food.

“Yes.” Wanda answered. “She rescued my brother and me. We owe her our lives.”

“What happened to her? I’m sure you’re aware she has yet to make it back.” Erik was incredibly intimidating. But Wanda just looked up at him, took a deep breath, and answered him.. well at least the answer her and Clint decided on.

“There was such a panic. Lorna tried to rescue as many mutants as she could... we got separated. That’s when I was shot... Pietro just took my hand, and we ran...” Wanda answered. It was believable enough... hopefully.

Erik stood there, studying Wanda, as if deciding whether or not to believe the explanation. And Wanda thought the silence in the elevator was bad... this was much worse, “She has been doing raids for years. Although my daughter is smart, she lacks good judgment when it comes to these situations.”

What the hell kind of response was that? Wanda didn’t know what else to say. What could she say. One doesn’t just agree with a statement like that. Did he believe her? Was she in the clear? What the hell Erik.

“She is a fighter though. I’m sure she will find her was back soon.” Erik turned from her taking a plate of potatoes, a slice of bread, and some vegetables that no doubt came from a can. Wanda doing the same. “I recommend heading back. Not too many people are fond of you here.” And that was it, the extent of their conversation. Erik left after that. Walking towards the elevator to go back to whatever he was doing before deciding to interrogate Wanda.

“The great Scarlet Witch.” Why did Erik have to be right?


	4. A Snake, a speedster and the Armless Wonder Lead a Prison Riot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not proof read bc I don’t got time for that shit

So two weeks in a relocation center doesn’t exactly sound like a vacation. But the Asgardian next door wasn’t the worlds worst company. They spoke about times past to well... pass the time, and Pietro had to admit he was growing fond of the guy. Pietro’s head wasn’t pounding constantly now, so that was a positive. And as far as he knew Wanda was still out in the world. Hopefully safe... and free.

“So how about a prison break?” The Asgardian said out of no where in the middle of the night.

“Mhmm. Sure. Have fun trying that.” Pietro told him, only half awake, and kept his eyes closed.

“I will. Would you like to join me?” The man asked. Pietro sighed. And Honestly? He would like to sleep. Asgardians didn’t need to sleep, or maybe just not as much. Pietro figured that out pretty quickly.

Pietro decided sleeping that night was hopeless, so he sat up in bed, trying to fully wake up. “And how exactly do you plan to do this?”

The speedster nearly fell out of bed when he saw that the Asgardian wasn’t talking to him from the next cell. He sat as if he was meditating on the floor in front of him. The Asgardian wore green robes, with gold accents, his hair was long... black- and... Pietro knew exactly who he was.

“Loki-“

“So you know me.” Loki said with a smirk.

Pietro remembered watching the New York invasion on the news when he was young. Of course he knew who Loki was, “Yeah-“

Loki nodded and stood, smoothing out his robe. “Let’s get out of here.” The lock on the door clicked, and it swung open.

Pietro was taken aback, how the- “you could have done that this whole time?!”

“You seem bitter. Should I just leave on my own instead?” Loki asked.

“No! No... I’m coming. I’m just- wondering why we haven’t done this sooner.” Pietro said, quickly pulling on his shoes. He stood from his bed and walked to the door.

“Free food and a place to stay.” Loki explained with a shrug, as if that just explained everything. Pietro couldn’t understand why that was something a literal god had to worry about, but he didn’t say anything. The speedster looked into the dark hallway, making sure the coast was clear before he stepped outside of the cell. Loki was much less careful. He strode out, and down the hall.

“Hey- hey! Wait!” Pietro whisper yelled.? Trying to catch up to the god of mischief “We can’t just leave everyone here.”

Loki looked at the speedster with questioning look, as if he had forgotten that Pietro was once a superhero. “Fine.” With that all the doors clicked and opened. “And now we’re leading a prison riot...”

A man came charging out from the cell they stood in front of. He swung at Pietro, the speedster barely dodged the attack. But he had the upper hand... quite literally, Pietro quickly noticed, (just after he had thought that), the man was missing arm. “Hey calm down! We just broke you out of here.” Pietro dodged another punch, and glanced at Loki. “A little help?”

“Your idea Maximoff.” Loki continued his walk for the exit.

Pietro was waiting for the next punch before he would fight back, but the man slowly let his guard down, his arm falling to his side. “Maximoff...”

Now Pietro was really confused.

“You’re Pietro?”

“Yeah...”

“I knew your sister...” the man said “a long time ago. She talked about you... I thought you were dead?”

“Well- she brought me back. She does that sometimes. Umm- who are you?”

“Bucky Barnes.”

Ooohhh. That made a lot more sense. “Well, Bucky Barnes. We have a prison riot to lead. Let’s go.” Pietro nodded for the armless wonder to follow before he ran after the god of mischief.

“Glad you could make it.” Loki said as he calmly walked though the halls. Prisoners ran past them, got into fights, but didn’t so much as look at the god, And guards they passed weren’t dumb enough to try and fight the mob of angry mutants, or the god of mischief.

And then- they made it. The mob broke free, out in the cold New York air. They were almost to freedom.

“Now what?” Pietro asked.

“Now what?” Loki repeated, questioning the question. “I would suggest going back to upstate New York and finding your sister, but it’s up to you.”

“You’re not coming?”

Loki shook his head looking towards the Long Island sound. “No, I have somewhere to be. It should be safe...”

“Shouldn’t we all go there if it’s safe?”

“No. It’s not for mortals.” Loki said, and with that he started walking.

“I hate that guy.” Bucky mumbled. Pietro couldnt disagree. He was still baffled that Loki had the power to get them out of there and decided to keep it to himself for weeks.

“Where do we go now?” A girl behind Pietro asked. He noticed the huge crowd of people waiting behind him, just waiting outside a prison for someone to lead them to safety.

“Well we cant all travel through New York together without being noticed.” Pietro spoke loudly, trying to make sure everyone heard him. “If you’re not a mutant it will be easier for you to travel unnoticed. Go now, we’ll all meet again in upstate New York. Where the old avengers facility used to be. Mutants. Travel in pairs, stay away from public transport. It will take you much longer but it’s the safest option. Don’t travel at night. Try to find some sunglasses, or some way to cover the codes under your eyes.” Pietro was no leader, and this plan sounded faulty, but he couldn’t think of any better way to get this many fugitive humans and mutants to safety.

“Humans, if you’re able go with a pair of mutants. Go into stores for them. Get them whatever they might need. Don’t steal if you can avoid it. And be careful!” Bucky added. Yeah- that sounded like a better idea.

Everyone immediately broke off, trying to find a group to travel with.

“I can go with you. If you don’t mind. I mean, you both are pretty noticeable.” The girl from before said. Pietro looked at her again. No code tattooed under her eye, she was human.

“Good plan.” Bucky said. “But we wait for everyone to go first. Make sure there’s no stragglers left behind.”

There was. By the time nearly everyone was gone there were 5 children left, all under the age of 16, that was Pietros estimate. The girl from before ran to one of the older kids, immediately pulling him into a hug. He was her little brother. She explained, they hadn’t seen each other in years. 

Pietro felt even more how much he missed his own sister. They were back together for only about an hour before he left her with a broken promise that he’d be back in 5 minutes. He watched the tearful reunion with a heavy heart.

There were sirens in the distance, they had to leave now. “Let’s go...” Bucky whispered to him. Pietro just nodded. The group ran. They ran for the trees and headed west towards the Hudson River.

———

“We could get to Brooklyn in 7 hours if we hurry.” Bucky told the group, the seven of them sat around a small fire.

“Or we could go to queens. Don’t we have an ally there?” The girl asked. Pietro would ask for her name but they had already traveled together for two hours and now he felt weird about asking. So she was just ‘the girl’

“Brooklyn will be safer. I trust our ally there much more.” Bucky countered.

“But that adds hours onto our trip, and I’d feel safer staying with a 20 year old with superpowers, rather than a 100 year old world war 2 vet.” The girl said. Pietro had to agree.

“Queens sounds like the best option.” Pietro told him, “it’s closer, a smaller city, and whoever this ally is- he has powers, I trust that more.”

Bucky sighed and nodded, “queens it is.”

The group all agreed, either mumbled so or nodded along. “So the Captain is staying in Brooklyn now?” Pietro asked.

“Last I heard, yeah. Although news doesn’t exactly travel well in prison. Most of the information any of us has is outdated, or just rumours.” Bucky explained. Pietro understood. He spent years in a mental hospital, he knew little of how much the world had changed sense his death. Wanda had brought him back, but they never talked about the years in between. What he knew was learnt from others in the hospital, or what he gathered after he came back.

“So the captain, I heard rumours-“ Pietro started,

“He went back to 1943. After Thanos was defeated.” Bucky said and Pietro could tell he hit a sore spot.

Pietro knew about Thanos. It was hard for him to believe after sokovia, the gem that was ultron and eventually the vision, went on to destroy half the universe. Much about that battle was unknown to him, he knew just as much as every civilian. “So Thanos... what happened?”

“Wanda didn’t tell you?” Bucky asked

Pietro shook his head, “Wanda and I continued our lives as if I had never died. Like the years after never happened. She did occasionally talk about small things that happened, but when I came to Thanos... I never asked. I didn’t want to upset her.”

“Understandable.” Bucky said, before starting to explain everything, well, everything he knew. Which wasn’t much. The soldier went into cryosleep shortly after the issue with the accords, and was stying in Wakanda after he woke. “Steve came to visit a few times. Updated me on how everyone was doing. The android- Vision... he and wanda had a tendency to disappear together. And then there was the fight in Wakanda... I couldn’t imagine doing what she had to do.”

Pietro was lost. What the hell did that mean? Bucky noticed the confused look Pietro have him. “You don’t know do you?”

The speedster shook his head “what do I not know?”

“She killed him-“ Bucky answered.

“Well I knew that- after she brought me back-“

Bucky cut him off, “no. This was the first time he died. Thanos was after the infinity stones, as you know. Vision had the mind stone. There wasn’t time to remove it, so Wanda had to destroy it. And vision with it.”

Shit- how did he not know this? He knew Vision had died, but he thought it was by Thanos’ hand. Bucky nodded when Pietro voiced the thought.

“He has the time stone, reversed what Wanda did and... killed him again.”

Pietro didn’t want to believe that. There was so much he didn’t know about his sister now, it broke his heart. She wasn’t who he remembered, she went through so much more than he knew, and she never told him. Back in 2015 she would have... The speedster looked over to the siblings they had rescued from that ‘relocation Center’ they were having their own quiet conversation. They were smiling, giggling. “I need to clear my head.” Pietro stood and quickly left the warmth of the fire.

Pietro tried to piece it all together as he walked through the near silent forest. He died, Wanda joined the avengers. Wanda threw a bomb into a heavily populated building resulting in the sokovia accords and fought with the star spangled captain against them? She was on the run for years with the Captain and his team, and the robot vision came to visit her? Then Thanos happened and vision died, not once, but twice. Five years after that half the world was brought back by the avengers, including his sister, and soon after Wanda warped her own reality to give herself some happiness. That’s everything Pietro knew about his own twin in the years he was gone.

Part of him wished he had never saved Clint. But he knew that Barton had kids, and growing up without a father... Pietro didn’t want those kids to have to go through that. Pietro didn’t want to regret that. He saved Costel too. He shouldn’t regret that. But if he had stayed, maybe things would be different.

He shook the thoughts from his head, he needed to focus on getting to Wanda now, not what he could have done years ago. 

Pietro found a decent place to sit, in a small clearing. He had never really believed in the gods Wanda did, he wasn’t even sure if he believed in the god he was raised to. But he didn’t know what else to do. He closed his eyes a prayed to anyone that would listen. Anyone who would get him back to her, to make things right. ‘It’s okay. I know some day I’m gonna be with you.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t know how Percy Jackson made its way into this... but it’s not a crossover fic. I just thought the nod to camp half-blood would be fun.  
> Also- Wanda Maximoff is Pagan and Pietro is atheist. That’s my canon.


End file.
